WHO'S NEXT?

By Gerry Ramos

HOLLYWOOD – Asked to make a choice on who he wants next, unbeaten former five-time champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. or long-time Mexican nemesis Juan Manuel Marquez, boxing phenom Manny Pacquiao appears to be leaning on a fight the whole world is craving for.

“Walang manood diyan kapag si Marquez ang kalaban. Sinong manood pa diyan?” Pacquiao asked.

Emphatically turning down a third fight against the same man who forced him to a controversial draw, and later, defeated by split decision in a big-time rematch, the 30-year old Filipino pride is left with no option but to face Mayweather in what many perceive as one of the biggest matches ever in boxing history.

Pacquiao said he wants to relax first and enjoy some time with his family after going to war with Miguel Cotto in their 12-round welterweight title bout Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The pound-for-pound top fighter of the world won the match behind a one-sided 12-round stoppage.

The General Santos City native added he won’t make any plans until December and is leaving it all up to promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank as to who will be his next opponent.

But obviously, the fans want a Pacquiao-Mayweather showdown.

“The public says we want that fight to happen, the way they clamored for the Leonard-Hearns fight,” said Hall of Fame trainer Emmanuel Steward.

“It’s going to be an intriguing fight because Floyd is a technical fighter. He knows how to break back and box a little,” he said of Mayweather’s fighting stance opposite to Pacquiao’s relentless and gung-ho style.

Steward, an analyst with HBO boxing who trained some of the world’s former champions including Hearns, is sure the mega-bout will be made.

“As to when and who could earn more in terms of money, I think it should be 50-50,” he said.

Mayweather, the former world pound-for-pound king who’s on the comeback trail, has vocally said he won’t agree on such an even share in terms of prize money.

But Steward said Pacquiao has all the rights to an equal sharing especially now that he’s proven to be boxing’s biggest attraction following his big win against another quality fighter in Cotto.

“I think Manny has earned his position as an attraction, and to me, not just pound-for-pound champion today, but he is one of the all-time greatest,” said the long-time trainer who owned the famous Kronx gym.

HBO president Ross Greenberg however, announced during the post-fight press conference of the Pacquiao-Cotto duel that boxing people, especially Arum and Golden Boy Promotions’ Richard Schaefer, are trying all means to make the fight between the Filipino boxing and Mayweather possible.

Schaefer’s involvement came upon after Mayweather Promotions tied up with Golden Boy in putting up the Mayweather-Marquez encounter last September, a non-title match that proved to be a big draw, earning more than a million in Pay-Per-View hits.

“He (Schaefer) plans to come in and meet with Bob next week to make the Mayweather fight. So I think you can all hope and pray that a fight of that magnitude and importance to the sports of boxing can truly be made because it is time to capitalize on all the hard work that was done over the last three months and we can look forward to one of the biggest events in boxing history.

“Let’s see what happens. Stay tune,” said Greenberg.